Look Within
by RintinDestiny
Summary: All is well on Earth, guarded by the mighty Thor, the All Father still strong on his throne and...Loki exiled on a deserted jungle prison in another realm. For Katie Davis it's a nice relaxing time after the holidays...until she is transported to the middle of no where in a different world. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1: Rescued (Maybe)?

Look Within:

**All is well on Earth, guarded by the mighty Thor, the All Father still strong on his throne and...Loki exiled on a deserted jungle prison. For Katie Davis it's a nice relaxing time after the holidays...until she is transported to the middle of no where in a different realm. What could possibly go wrong?**

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Chapter 1: Rescued (Maybe?)

"Burrrr..." Katie shivered, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck as the frigid January air blew past her in a flurry of snow flakes.

She walked briskly down the sidewalk, the rising building of Boston looking dull and gray in the cloudy winter light. Katie had just finished returning several Christmas presents that didn't fit or suit her taste. A red jacket that her friend June had given her was a size too big so she exchanged it for a size smaller, her dad had gotten her a chunky, gaudy necklace that she had exchanged for an elegant garnet pendant on a delicate silver chain, and her ex boyfriend had gotten her an I'm-sorry-I-broke-up-with-you gift. A stuffed monkey that held a big pink heart; which, she had exchanged for a full refund that was then used to buy an order of shrimp lo-mien and steamed pork dumplings.

'Mmm...comfort food.' she thought to herself, trying to ignore the sadness that nagged at the back of her mind.

Jack had been her boyfriend of almost two years and Katie had been almost positive that she was going to marry him. Until he broke up with her Christmas day. He had brought out the whole kit and kaboodle: puppy dog faces, candy, the stuffed animal, and a dozen versions of "it's not you it's me". It was two days later that she found out that he had been cheating on her with a thin Barbie girl from New York City who had a promising career on Broadway.

Katie shook the memories away and concentrated on getting back to her apartment with the shopping bags and the heavy paper bag of food of steaming delicious food. She turned the corner and walked down a small alley to the door that lead up into her stairwell.

She had just put her key into the lock when Katie felt a heavy hand grab her shoulder and jerked her back. Katie tried to yell but another hand covered her mouth while a second pair of hands grabbed the bags out of the girls hands.

Katie felt her heart beat in her throat and out of instinct bit down on the hand of the attacker. He yelped and pulled back just in time for Katie to call out before he hit the side of blonde's head. She went down on the concrete, the world twirling in my vision as her ears rang.

"It's nothing man, just chick junk!" one rough voice say and the bag that held the jacket was thrown to the ground.

"Grab the necklace and let's git outta here!" another voice growled and dropped the bag of food.

She reached out on a whim and grabbed the pant of one of the attackers, her head still spinning with a throbbing pain.

Let go of me!" the man yelled, seeming scared that the young woman was fighting back.

His foot flicked forward and connected with Katie's temple at which there was a loud rumble and a bright flash. Twin yells rang out from the street and there was a metallic clang that sounded far away as her vision faded to black.

"Damn that hurt..." was the first thing that Katie said as she felt herself coming too.

Her head pounded and her vision was blurry for several moments.

"Are you alright?"

Katie heard a deep voice, a very masculine, deep voice. She blinked and sat up suddenly; staring dumbstruck at the extremely attractive man that was kneeling in front of her.

He was slightly rough looking, but in a good way. He had a short layer of stubble on his face that was framed by long blonde hair. His eyes were extremely blue and they stared at her in a confused way that made them seem even more attractive. That's when she noticed what the guy was wearing; and her brow furrowed. His chest was covered by an intricate metal chest plate, his shoulders supported a crimson cape that flowed down to form a ruby bundle in the snow. His arms and legs were covered in a kind of chain or leather armor and in his hand he held a very heavy looking hammer.

"Are you alright?" he repeated, and Katie had to mentally slap herself to coherency.

"Oh, um...ye...yes. Yes, well I guess so. I got hit in the head...by those guys...that..." looked past the guy and saw the two thieves moaning on the ground in pain.

"You...you saved me..." she ended her muttering, trying to save her last shred of dignity.

He gave a slight smile and helped Katie to her feet. As they stood up, Katie looked up in awe as he towered a good foot above her; his broad, muscled shoulders almost double her width.

"You should go, the authorities should be here to collect the two who attacked you." the man said, hefting his hammer in his hand.

_'Who was this guy!' _Katie thought to herself as she bent down to collect her now snow caked bags. The one with her jacket was ripped and the raspberry colored coat showed through, the bag with the Chinese food seemed mostly intact though. She even got the small gift bag with the necklace that was only a foot or so away.

Katie turned and looked at her rescuer curiously, putting the bags over her arm.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, stepping up to the door while keeping her eyes on the strange man.

He gave another small smile, this time it stayed as he answered.

"I am Thor, Odinson and guardian of this realm."

She blinked once and gave a laugh, thinking that this guy was insane.

"No, really, who are you? And what's which the cosplay getup?"

The man shook his head, muttering something about simple mortals but continued to give that cute smile.

"Just, stay inside until your authorities come to collect the criminals." he said and started walking towards the back of the alley.

Katie stared down at the key to her apartment in her hand and saw a fat drop of rain splat on the key chain. It was soon followed by many more that froze almost immediately as they hit the snow.

_'Rain...IN JANUARY?' _Katie thought and whipped around.

The man in the cape, Thor, was swinging the hammer around his wrist with amazing speed and the clouds above swirled ominously; telling of a thunderstorm that was bringing the rain.

"Wait!" she called out and started running as a light began to glow around the guy, wanting to know who he really was.

He looked over and seemed to yell the word STOP but Katie couldn't tell over the rush of wind. The glow grew brighter and brighter as the girl ran towards the man but she had to close her eyes as the light grew too extreme. Suddenly, the feeling of weightlessness overcame Katie and she felt her feet leave the ground; the sound of wind the only thing she heard.


	2. Chapter 2: Loki

Look Within:

**Well here's chapter 2. Not much to report except this'll probably be a short fanfic then most, probably only five or so chapters. Let me know what you think; any feedback would be awesome! Godbless- Rin**

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Chapter 2: Loki

Katie screamed as she felt herself flying upwards at an incredible speed. Lights of all different colors flashed passed her as if she were hurtling by car head lights at a hundred miles and hour. For several seconds she covered her face with her hands but slowly uncovered them and gazed enraptured by the beautiful lights that swirled and streaked passed her.

Katie squinted and glimpsed galaxies before they hurried out of sight. For mere moments she felt like she was seeing the way God would...before a strange sensation over came her. The feeling of falling. The lights that rushed away went from being colored streaks to pinpoints of light and then winked out of existence. The blonde woman suddenly started screaming once more as she fell through blackness and passed out into the unknown.

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the dense coverage of the broad-leaved trees and colorful birds fluttered in between the dark wooded branches like butterflies. The air was thick and filled with moisture like that of a summer day in Florida and swarms of small insects. But, amongst the dark greens of the forest a bright raspberry colored piece of cloth peeked out from underneath the undergrowth. Bits of torn paper littered the ground around it and a slight piece of a leather boot poked up out of the tall grass. A pained moan escaped the underbrush and the leaves shook as a head poked up, blonde hair messy and entangled with leaves and twigs.

Katie blinked in the bright sunlight and slowly got up, wobbling slightly as she made her way out into a small clearing. The small paper bag holding her food was somehow still attached to her wrist while the other two containing her necklace and jacket were ripped and thrown about the forest floor.

"Where the hell..." she murmured, covered her eyes with one of her gloved hands and looking up while she turned in a circle.

A sudden flurry of activity made a flock of red and blue birds take to the sky and Katie jumped slightly. She suddenly felt the heat of the sun and that's when it hit her that she was no longer in Boston.

"How..." she gasped, feeling panic start to creep up into her chest as she whirled around to gaze at the seemingly unending jungle.

"No...no, nonononono..." she started saying to herself, tears forming in her eyes.

A sudden growl made her whip around once more and the undergrowth shuttered as a sleek shape slunk around in the shadows, a pair of golden eyes blinking in and out of existence.

Katie froze, sweat accumulating on her brow; both from the heat of her winter clothes and the sight of the unknown predator. The growling continued and slowly grew louder and louder until the sharp head penetrated the wall of foliage and looked up at Katie.

The muzzle was like that of a dog or wolf while the head was broader like that of a cat. The fur a blue-green color; not unlike that of algae and it's eyes were golden, slitted like a felines. Slightly darker colored stripes lined it's back while it's tail tapered to a wolf-like tip. It was almost double the size of a tiger and it stalked towards Katie with a hunter's gleam in it's eyes.

"Oh crap..." she muttered and had no other choice but to run.

* * *

A gentle breeze on the opposite side of the jungle drove a small flock of butterflies towards a small stream that dropped in a small series of waterfalls. It was a pretty sight that most people would stop and take a picture of, or, perhaps stay and watch the water travel among the rocks. Several bright red and purple flowers bloomed along the shore, their yellow, pollen covers pistil glowed golden in the sunlight.

That was until a black, leather boot crushed one of the delicate blooms below a heavy heel. The slim shape of a man paced restlessly along the edge of the stream, his clothing seeming to elegant for the untamed surroundings wit the gold embellishments and patterns carved into the leather parts.

His dark eyes flicked to the surrounding trees to the ground and back as he muttered under his breath. His black hair falling to his shoulders and framing his thin, pale, face. Several words could be heard over the trickling water: betrayed, brother, father, and damn were the most frequent ones. This continued for several minutes and would have most likely continued further if her had not looked up and ceased his pacing.

The slim man cocked his head as if something had caught his attention in the silence. He stayed statue still listening intently to seemingly nothing at all. Until...a quiet shrill sound echoed through the jungle. The man's frown curved into a sly grin, he straightened up, and looked towards the trees behind him.

"I suppose this prison just got a bit more interesting." he muttered and began walking towards the noise at a leisurely pace, his hands clasped behind his back.

* * *

Katie leaned against the rough bark of the tree, clinging for dear life to the limb that she had perched herself on. Below her the strange wolf/cat creature paced back and forth, making irritated growls that it's lunch had escaped. It crouched low and lept as far as it could, it's clawed paws just scratching the lower part of the limb that Katie was on.

She screamed once more, sending a flock of small blue and purple birds skyward. Her coat that she had been wearing was torn to shreds, her hat and gloves long gone, and her scarf was barely handing around her neck. The brown bag that held her now most likely mush Chinese food was still somehow swinging from her arm, though, it was definitely worse for wear.

The blonde carefully looked down at her attacker and tried to get her erratic breathing under control. But when she saw the height from her perch to the ground she moaned and closed her eyes quickly, she had never been a fan of heights ever since she was little. Katie's mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out a way to get away from the weird animal that was hunting her, but she new her options were limited.

She could wait until the beast grew bored and went away but that could take hours if not days. She could try to throw things to make it go away but the only things she had left was the bag of food, scarf, and shoes. Finally, she could try to make break for it but the animal could easily catch her within seconds. It was a miracle that she had been able to climb the tree before the cat/dog thing had caught up.

Katie looked down at her leather snow boots, deciding that if she could make it clear she wasn't worth eating the brute would go away. So, carefully the woman brought up her left leg and gripped the sole of her boot and gently tugged it off. She weighed it in her hand and looked down at the pacing animal. It continued to pace back and forth by the roots of the tree, it's golden eyes locked onto her movement. She gulped and then with as much strength as she could muster chucked the boot at the creature. It flew downwards and thunked heavily onto the animal's head.

It roared in indignation and lept blindly upwards, grabbing the branch on which Katie clung and she screamed even louder than before. The beast hung onto the limb and of the tree causing it to creak and groan at the extreme weight. Leaves and twigs fell to the forest floor and the branch gave a splitting crack and shifted suddenly. Katie hung on and had to try and control her vertigo as the ground spun before her eyes. The beast finally let go and crashed to the forest floor, growling even louder than before, it's eyes a flame with anger.

"Oh dear Lord please, oh crap!" She panted, the tree branch swaying dangerously.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Katie said over and over to herself, "should have just stay quiet and prayed that it went away."

"It is a Kötter, it doesn't just _go away_." the sound of a voice made Katie jump so hard that she nearly fell of the wavering branch.

She looked over at one of the neighboring trees to her left and looked flabbergasted to see a guy just sitting on one of the lower branches.

He smirked at her in amusement and smugly sat there with his hands folded in his lap. Katie started at the pale face framed by ebony hair, unsure of what to do. She hadn't thought that other people would be nearby, in her mind she had been abandoned in the middle of nowhere.

"Who...who are you!?" she gasped, and winced as the branch creaked once more.

"Oh don't mind me, just a spectator." he replied and gave a humorless laugh.

Katie started, "Aren't...aren't you going to help me?"

The man considered the question but just laughed once more, "Where's the fun in that?"

_'He's insane!' _Katie thought and looked back down at the growling Kötter and then back up to smirking man.

"Who the hell are you? HELP ME!" she hissed, her fear subsiding slightly to be replaced with anger.

The man's smile faded and his dark eyes hardened. He stood up suddenly and lept to the ground, drawing the attention to the beast which turned to roar at him. Without missing a beat though, he whipped out a short but sharp blade from the sleeve of his robe that he threw with scary accuracy. The blade flew towards the Kötter and sliced the right side of it's face and then continued to embed itself into the base of Katie's tree.

The animal howled in pain but turned and fled, it's eye ruined by the cut and it soon disappeared into brush. It's howls still audible for several more minutes.

Katie watched as the man retrieved his weapon and then stared at her with hard dark eyes. She shivered and suddenly had a feeling that she had just prodded a must more dangerous creature than the one that had just fled.

The man cleaned the blood off of the blade and it disappeared once more into his sleeve, not once taking his eyes off of Katie. Finally, he rolled his shoulders back and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"I am Loki, son of Laufey. Exiled of Asgard."


	3. Chapter 3: Survival

Look Within:

**Hey guys! Here's chapter three I hope you like it :) I would love to get some feedback on how I'm doing, it helps alot when I get tips from the reviews. But either way, enjoy and God bless! -Rin**

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Chapter 3: Survival

Katie gazed into the dark eyes that were glaring back, all traces of his smirk now replaced with quiet anger. She felt pinned to the spot by those dangerous eyes, even though she was still a good ten feet above him in the tree branch. There were several moments of tense silence until Loki broke the eye contact and turned to walk away.

"Wait..." Katie said, more to herself than to the man but he still seemed to hear her.

He halted but didn't turn to face Kaite this time.

The blonde didn't know what to say, she had just been attacked by an unbeknownst creature in a unknown forest, and then somewhat saved by this mysterious Loki person. She just wanted answers but she didn't know how to ask them.

"Unless you speak I will be inclined to continue walking." he grumbled, clasping his hands behind his back but continuing to stare straight ahead.

Katie took a breath and gulped.

"T...thank you."

The man seemed to stiffen, "For what exactly."

"For saving me..." she felt like she was answering a math question on a test.

A dark chuckle made it's way over to her eyes and she confirmed it was the wrong answer, she just hoped that she hadn't failed a 'test'.

"Oh, you foolish girl, I have only postponed the inevitable." he looked at the blonde out of the corner of his eye and then strode forward.

Katie watched as the raven-haired man disappeared into the forest his soft footsteps vanishing only seconds later. She saw that she was alone but couldn't get over the feeling of being watched, those haunting eyes still making her shiver.

_'Come on Katie, get it together! You are a grown twenty year old who's braved the worst of New England, this jungle will be a piece of cake...'_ She thought to herself and took another deep breath, trying to put the strange man out of her mind.

She quickly looked at the branch she was on, it had been nearly clawed in half by that Kötter or whatever it was. She weighed the options she had left: try to get down while not breaking the branch and get to a lower one from which she could jump down. Or, jump and pray that the ten foot drop wouldn't break anything.

Katie didn't like either option due to the severe variables and unknowns that plagued the predicament. She didn't know how much longer the branch would hold out, with or without her weight, and how much time she had before the beast...or man for that matter, might come back. The young woman nodded to herself, she had to try and get down, and if it _did _go wrong she was going to fall either way.

Slowly, she slid herself as far back against the tree as she could and then sat so both her legs dangled on one side of the branch. Katie threw the now mushy bag of Chinese food to the forest floor where is landed with a splat. Next, she took off her tattered coat and scarf and threw them to the ground as well, not caring if they got dirty or not. Finally, Katie just sat there in a gray t-shirt and jeans with only one leather boot on her right foot. She saw a lower branch about four feet I front of her and about five feet below.

"You can make it." she said and slowly began to lower herself off the branch.

The broken limb creaked and groaned, small splinters of wood breaking off and falling to the ground like wooden snow. But the branch held as Katie hung down by her hands and felt around with her bare foot for the branch. It was so close, just a mere inch out of reach of her big toe. She swung slightly and tried to land on the branch but all she managed was brush it with the tip of her toe.

There was a loud crack and the branch on which Katie was hanging jerked downwards by a good couple inches. She whimpered and stretched her leg as far as it would go and was just able to grab it. She landed wobbly and waved her arms frantically to keep her balance but then there was an even louder crack than before. She looked up in terror as the branch she had just escaped from began to fall...towards her.

Without thinking she lept from her perch to the forest floor and the branch crashed down almost on top of her. Katie yelled as a burst of pain erupted in her arm and she clutched her wrist to her chest and curled up amongst the dirt and undergrowth. Her vision went red and she nearly passed out with the pain that radiated from her wrist. Time blurred into unaccountable pain filled moments that could have been seconds or years to the young woman. She curled into a fetal position, not even caring where she was anymore. She just wanted the agony to go away.

* * *

Finally, the pain began to subside and Katie was able to sit up. She blinked rapidly trying to control the hot tears that had begun to stream down her face as she looked down at her throbbing wrist. A huge blotchy, blue and yellow bruise had begun to form beneath the tender, swollen skin. Even though she had never broken a bone before, Katie was positive that her wrist was now indeed broken.

Slowly she tried to stand and was able to get into a kneeling position before a sharp jolt of pain made her hiss through her teeth and pause. The girl waited until the pain subsided once more and slowly stood up. She looked around blearily and spotted the remains of her coat and scarf lying in amongst the leaves of some of the undergrowth.

Going on an idea she had learned in one of her health classes in college before winter break Katie took the coat and tore a strip of cloth and found two pieces of thick bark. Wincing every few seconds she placed the bark on top and underneath her wrist. Then, she took the strip of cloth from the coat and wrapped the broken joint firmly. At first she almost couldn't do it cause of the pain and the pieces of bark kept slipping. But eventually the girl was able to tie a tight knot to complete the makeshift splint.

Next, Katie took the scarf, which was still in okay condition, and tied the two ends together to create a sling that she rested her now immobile wrist on. After everything was set the blonde sighed and leaned against the trunk of one of the giant trees. She felt like just curling up and falling asleep, praying that she would wake up in her bed safe, warm, and wrist unbroken. More tears threatened to over flow but Katie quickly closed her eyes and waited for the burning sensation to stop before she opened them again.

_'You are a grown woman! You can't go loosing it now..._' she thought to herself just as a growl came from her stomach.

Katie realized that it had been several hours since she had last eaten. By the position of the sun it was almost three in the afternoon, she had only eaten a bagel for breakfast and that was at seven-thirty.

_'That's why I had bought the...Chinese food...'_ Katie groaned as she turned and saw the soggy looking brown bag at the base of the tree.

She walked over and knelt down to inspect the damage and to see if anything edible was left. She peeled back the torn brown paper and saw both good and bad news. The greasy comfort food had made the other side of the paper bag tear and the lo-mien had exploded onto the dirt and insect covered ground. Already ants had started claiming pieces of shrimp and noodle as their own.

Luckily, the white carton containing the dumplings had survived with only a few dents in the thin cardboard container. Quickly, she grabbed the take out food box by it's wire handle and peeked within. Six, cold, dumplings sat within; gloriously untouched by bug, dirt, or anything unsavory. Katie was about to dive into the gleaming morsels when a bird gave a high pitched call and flew upwards into the air.

She was reminded that she could very well not be alone in the forest and that it would be best to find some place to hide while she ate. Even better would be to find civilization or at least a place to settle for the night.

Making sure that the sling's knot would hold and that her only source of food was still able to be ported, Katie looked around and, after grabbing the boot she had thrown, decided it would be best to head the way the sun was setting. Hopefully she would be able to find a water source and follow that from there. She just prayed that she would find help before something else found her.

* * *

Loki was pacing once more, except this time he was within the confines of what he would consider his home. With the use of his magic he had been able to construct a dwelling inside the trunk of one of the largest trees in the entire jungle. The hollow within was about fifteen feet in diameter and went eight feet up, not even close to where the branches of the tree started. The tree itself had to be at least two hundred feet high and twenty feet in diameter.

The single room was relatively unfurnished, with only a small chest for the small amount of provisions that were provided to him every two weeks. It was one of the only conditions that his mother was able to get from Odin during his sentencing for treason. It would only enough for him as long as he ate just enough every two weeks. If he were to over indulge or loose part of his rations he would have to survive by his own hands for however long he had left.

Loki didn't doubt that he could survive without and help but he preferred the Asgardian food compared to primitively roasting whatever he happened to catch over a flame.

The two other things within the space were a cot shoved against the wall with a thin blanket and a stack of thick leather book. These few items were the only other things that Frigga could secure for her adopted son. Everything else was stripped from him except the clothes that he wore by Odin.

Just thinking about the man that Loki had thought was his father made his mouth curl into a snarl and his stopped his pacing. He was never good enough, not even when he had done everything in his power to please Odin. Loki was cast out like always.

The raven-haired man closed his eyes and took a breath, trying to draw his mind from darker thoughts. His train of thought went back to the strange woman who had appeared in the forest. She was a real puzzle and it frustrated him because he was usually good at puzzles.

Was she some other being who had displeased the mighty Odin and had been banished to this jungle prison? Or was she a native that only now Loki had met?

_'No'._ he thought. _'No, she was too strangely dressed to be a native of the jungle. If anything she looked human. But what would a human be doing here? Odin rarely got caught up with the dealings of humans, that was mainly...Thor's place of interest...'_

"Thor." Loki said the single name and his hands clenched into tight fists.

Loki had never forgiven Thor for his brutish arrogance that had cost him his throne. Yes, Thor said he still cared for Loki as a brother but he didn't believe a word of it. All he cared about was himself and those idiotic humans on the puny realm of Earth.

"So Thor is here, or was at least." he said to himself.

A sly smirk crossed his features as a brilliantly malicious idea crossed his mind. Like he had thought before Loki never doubted his hunting ability. So why not give it a try?

"Let's go see what this girl knows."

* * *

**HEY! Let me know what you think's gunna happen, if you're right you get a cyber cookie! -Rin**


	4. Chapter 4: The Hunter and the Hunted

Look Within:

**Hey guys! You liking this fic as all?...*crickets*...anyone? Well anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 4 and all that is has to offer. I believe that when I said this will only be a 5 chapter fanfiction...well I think that was a lie. This'll probably end up going a bit longer. I would love to get any reviews or feedback at all :) God bless – Rin**

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Chapter 4: The Hunter and the Hunted

"Ow..." Katie mumbled as he nearly tripped for the millionth time.

She had been walking for quite some time now and had even been able to find a stream that meandered through the forest. Unfortunately, she had gotten no closer to finding any civilization or even a decent hole in a tree that she could sleep in. The blonde was barely able to keep her feet going as the last rays of the sun began to disappear and the sky began to turn a deep indigo. Katie knew that she had to try and find some place to settle before anything like that giant cat came round for a midnight snack.

There was a sudden SNAP and Katie froze in place, her eyes wide in the thickening darkness. She listened carefully for movement in the underbrush and looked for any glowing eyes that may indicate the presence of a predator. For a full minute Katie stood statue still but slowly started forwards once more, her eyes straining to make out the blackness in front of her.

Katie never even noticed the shadow among the leaves of the tree to her right, gleaming eyes watching her as she walked right below. The shadow cursed himself silently for snapped a twig below his boot. But he was not too concerned as the blonde girl had yet to see him. Loki, crouched lower as the girl walked away, following the sound of the stream to her right. The raven-haired man smirked, 'Foolish human.' Then, he carefully stood up on the branch that was his perch and suddenly vanished.

* * *

Heimdall slid his sword out of the scabbard that controlled the Bifrost.

"Welcome back my lord." he said, looking over at Thor, who had just returned.

The blonde had a look of confusion and concern on his face and didn't register Heimdall right away.

"Where is she?" he muttered turning to look behind him before looking to the gate keeper of the Bifrost.

"Where is who?" the golden glad warrior asked, his dark brow furrowing as he watched Thor start to pace back and forth in agitation.

"The young maiden who I rescued down on Midgard!? She was taken along with me by the Bifrost yet she is not here!" Thor rumbled gazing concernedly at Heimdall.

The Guardian paused for a moment and gazed out into the starry sky, his glowing amber eyes narrowed as if he were searching for something within the vastness of space. Thor was silent as he watched Heimdall, patiently waiting for an answer to his question.

"The young woman is no longer on Midgard..." the Guardian rumbled as he continued to gaze out at the swirling universe.

"Yes but where did she..." Thor stopped when Heimdall frowned and made a discontented sound.

"She is not in any of the nine realms."

There was silence as the young Asgardian and Heimdall contemplated what this startling revelation meant.

"If she is not in any of the nine realms then she must have fallen into the blackness." Thor said darkly.

Heimdall was silent still, his eyes darting too and fro as he continued to search. For what seemed like forever he stood there searching until finally his frown turned to a look of distaste.

"She is in the Inbetween, though I cannot see what is going on around her as the rest of the world is clouded by magic."

Thor stared at the Gatekeeper in horror and then his eyes hardened with anger.

"Loki!"

* * *

Katie couldn't do it anymore, she felt like she was loosing her mind. All around her were noises of snapping twigs but whenever she whipped around to look for whatever was haunting her only blackness met her gaze. It was well into the night and there was no moon or starlight to guide the blonde girl through the dense jungle, which, seemed keen on tripping her every chance it got.

Just as she thought she heard another sound behind her something caught her foot and Katie fell to the ground. Rolling slightly to avoid landing on her broken wrist she landed on a thick root that made the air go out of her. For several minutes the girl just lay there in a daze, trying to suck air into her lungs. That was when a dark shape fell out of the tree and landed nimbly on the forest floor before standing up.

"No!" Katie gasped and tried to scoot backwards but her body was still trying to compensate for lack of air and sleep.

The figure strode forward and before she could do anything he touched the side of Katie's head. She felt her mind cloud over and then the world tipped...then when black.

Loki look down in the darkness at the now sleeping girl. He had been following her for hours weighing whether he should just capture her or to kill her out of spite. How Loki would have loved to just end the pitiful creature before him just to see the look on Thor's arrogant face. But he knew better than to just throw away such a powerful bargaining chip and he may as well get some of his questions answered. Carefully, his picked the young woman up, her head rolling uselessly, and walked a few paces before disappearing without a sound.

Moments later Loki appeared by his home with a still unconscious Katie. He smiled to himself, already imagining how his plan would come to fruition. Loki could already see Thor coming down to the jungle prison in the flash of the Bifrost. Then before he even had a chance to attack Loki would pull out the helpless woman, and bargain for his freedom.

He would relish the moments in which Thor decided the girl's fate, torn between allowing Loki to go free and allowing the Midgardian to die. Then, when the Thunder god yielded to permit Loki to leave, he would slip a blade between his brother's ribs. Stranding him and the girl to die in the God forsaken jungle while Loki would be free with nothing to stand in his way of revenge.

Loki entered into his small home and put Katie down at the far end of the room. She slumped down like a rag doll, her dirty blonde hair falling over her bedraggled face. Loki then seemed to contemplate something before snapping his fingers and making a length of rope appear in his hands. Then, for good measure tied the young woman's ankles together so that when she did awake she would not be able to run.

* * *

"How could the Odinsleep come now?! Out of all time in eternity it had to be now!" Thor rumbled as he paced back and forth impatiently in front of his mother who watched sorrowfully from beside the sleeping Allfather.

"It is impossible to predict when your father must sleep." Frigga said softly and looked gently down at her sleeping husband.

"But what can we do? Father would be the only one who could retrieve the Midgardian that has been imprisoned with Loki without releasing him!" Thor shouted, and in the distance thunder rumbled.

Frigga frowned, "You cannot leave now, you must protect Asgard while your father sleeps. Why cannot Sif and the Warriors three retrieve the Midgardian? They are more than capable."

Thor shook his head and sighed, "They are certainly capable mother but Loki is cunning, he most likely already has the girl as a bargaining chip and is waiting for either myself or them to come rescue her. We are blind with the prison shrouded and I refuse to send the others there without knowing what lies in wait."

The queen of Asgard watched her son worry and in her heart knew he would make a wise someday. But right now he was needed more than anyone to help protect Asgard while the Allfather gathered his strength once more.

"What if I were to go? Loki has never meant harm to me, even when he has tried to take the throne." she said and Thor paused, his brow furrowed as he thought.

"That may be a possibility, but if something were to go wrong no one would be able to come retrieve you right away. I...I believe it is best to wait, for the time being..." Thor finally finished, though he seemed very distressed.

Frigga stood slowly and clasped her hands together, "You do not believe the girl will come to harm?"

The thunder god was still for a moment but then shook his head, "Loki would not throw away such a bargaining chip until he has gotten what he wants. He will wait it out...like a fox at a rabbit den."

Frigga nodded, "Then for the time being we will watch and wait the best we can. Heimdall will certainly do his best."

Thor sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, "That he will. Thank you mother."

The queen nodded, "You have done your best for now Thor." she said as he turned to leave.

The blonde paused before he closed the door, "But is it enough?"

* * *

Katie moaned, she had had the strangest dream. She had dreamt that somehow she had been transported by some attractive blonde superhero to a weird jungle. Then, after being attacked by a giant cat/dog thing she had been attacked by some black haired guy.

"I need to stop watching so many fantasy movies..." she muttered, feeling an early morning head ache coming on.

At first Katie didn't want to open her eyes, but she suddenly felt that something was off. She was sitting up which was odd in itself, she never fell asleep sitting in bed. Next, the bed in which she was sitting was extremely hard, like a piece of wood. Finally, the strangest this was that she couldn't move one of her arms or either of her legs.

Her eyes shot open and Katie groaned once more, "It wasn't a dream..."

She was sitting on the floor of a single room that reminded her of a hobbit house. The floor, walls and ceiling were seamlessly made out of wood. There were only a few things decorating the room though, a ornate, wooden chest that had very Celtic looking symbols on it and a heavy iron lock. The only other things in the room were a thin mattress and a large pile of books, all of which looked worn and read through.

Katie tried to get up but discovered that her feet were tied together and with her broken wrist could barely maneuver herself. The slight curiosity that she had felt turned to a panic as it set in that she was some sort of prisoner. Though she new not of whom or why.

As quietly as possible she tried to slip her booted feet out of the rope but it was painfully tight around her ankles. Katie tried to move around but ended up slumping over like a defeated turtle. It was, at that moment, that something seemed to move outside and the small door on the other side of the room creaked open. Katie watched in horror as a pair of black, leather boots entered in; connected to the body of the raven-haired man who had called himself Loki.

"Ah. You've awoken!" he said with a malicious joy on his face.

Katie didn't say a thing but just looked horrified at the person before her. Feeling like a mouse trapped in it's hole by a cat.


End file.
